he decolonization of thought and the perspective in Science, Technology and Society

Abstract

Western philosophy and philosophers, since its genesis in Ancient Greece, believed that only Greeks possessed epistemologies and rationalities. African societies, for example, were considered a-historical, and western philosophers denied their contributions to the structuring of scientific knowledge. For many centuries this idea was spread around the world, including during the colonization project of Americas. Therefore, the objective of this article is to understand, through a bibliographic review, how the lack of recognition of diaspora societies by western philosophy has led to the silencing of African philosophy, articulating the studies of Science, Technology and Society (STS) as an ally in the process of decolonization of knowledge in Brazilian society. In order to displace the thought of Eurocentrism, our theoretical reference is located in post-colonial and/or decolonial philosophers as well as Dantas (2018), Ribeiro (2017), Fanon (1968), Quijano (2005; 2009), among others, who through their studies highlight the need for liberation from colonialism present in the diaspora. First of all, it briefly presents the cradle of Western philosophy, highlighting the absence of African philosophy in its conception through two tools developed by Eurocentrism: epistemicide and coloniality. In the sequence, the concept of decolonization is articulated with the studies in Science, Technology and Society (STS) in order to break with the paradigms established by the predominant model of science. Finally, the considerations point out the challenges and perspectives of Brazilian education on the teaching of African philosophy, through an afroperspectivist vision indicating possible paths for a true decolonization of knowledge in aphrodiasporic societies. The investigations established in this article address as a point of discussion the importance of the teaching of African philosophy in aphrodiasporic countries, especially in Brazil. The main intention here is to point out horizons that go beyond Western philosophy.